Posts tagged Manager Tools

There are few things that sadden me as much as my inability to keep a podcast up and running for very long. Anime Pundit Daryl Surat once told me, “90% of all podcasts don’t make it to episode 8.” I thought he was joking, but only 3 (5 recorded) episodes out, I have come to recognize Daryl as the sage he is… again. That being said, there are a number of podcasts I listen to on a regular basis and decided that you need to know who they are, and why I listen!

In no particular order:

Anime World Order – The first podcast I every subscribed to, and the one I have listened to consistently from the beginning. Gerald, Clarisa and Daryl take a very unorthodox look at anime and anime fandom. They only talk about stuff they want to talk about. Just because a show is ‘new’ or popular will not drive their need to talk about or even review it. I like to refer to their style as “punditry on a whim”. The AWO crew is in no one’s pocket (well, maybe in the pocket of Otaku USA since all three write for the magazine), so their blunt honesty can be both humorous and biting. Being on both the favorable and unfavorable end of their opinions, I still listen each month-or-so. I have to say, they have some of the most unique opinions on the grand overarching subject of anime out there.

The Greatest Movie Ever! Podcast – If someone were to ask me 3 years ago, “Hey Joey… what kind of podcast would you do?”, my answer would have been the exact outline of The Greatest Movie Ever! Podcast. Paul Chapman has taken two things I love, movies and opinions, and made the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of podcasting. The mix that Paul has created is a two-fold extravaganza. First the selection of movies which have included The Last Starfighter, Conan: The Barbarian, Xanadu, and Django. There is no film that Paul will not try to tackle. The second part is the ‘co-stars’ Paul brings to the table: Sean “Hollywood” Hunting, Kathrine “The Great”, Daryl Surat, and even his mother! Each of these brings in a unique view that truly makes The Great Movie Ever! Podcast a treat. I would say that Paul’s podcast is the one I truly enjoy the most currently.

Raging Bullets – This may come as a shock to many of you, but I read comics… a lot of comics. Every Wednesday revolves around what I am going to need to get done, what I need to eat, how traffic will be so I can be at my local comic shop (Heroes and Villains) promptly at 2:00pm. The problem is I read 99% DC and 1% Marvel (Captain America: Reborn is it), so most comic book podcasts are full of about 50% of stuff I just don’t care about. Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin have created the Raging Bullets Podcast, which is 100% DC… No Marvel, no Image, no Indies, just DC all the time. While these guys can be way too detail oriented and will take 3 episodes (6+ hours) focusing on a storyline that could be handled in 20 minutes, you can tell they just love these comics as real fanboys. Not only do they talk about current storylines, but will take a trip in the Wayback Machine and look at older ‘classic’ stories. Even with their faults, Sean and Jim produce a quality podcast that does not bore, which a good number of comic book podcasts do time and time again.

Massively Speaking – I do play a number of Massively Mulitplayer Online games (MMOs) but I really do not have the time or the money to sit down and play them all, or even keep track of what new ones are coming down the pipe. Massively Speaking covers all of the MMOs with only a small spattering of World of Warcraft (WoW). Since I do not play WoW at all, that fact initially attracted me to the feed, but after listening to it for nearly a month, their insight has been very helpful in making decisions on what MMOs to look at and which to ignore. Unlike all the previous podcasts I have listed, the staff of Massively Speaking are compensated for the production of their podcast, but it does not seem to have skewed their opinions of particular products… as of yet.

Manager Tools - **WARNING** **WARNING** **Boring ‘work’ kind of stuff ahead** In my ‘real’ life, I am a manager. Those that manage teams will agree with me that it’s easy to lead, it’s much much much harder to lead well. I try to gather information from all kinds of sources but with the amount of other reading for pleasure and my short attention span, I was having a good bit of trouble trying to collect information, especially real world experiences. It’s real easy for some professor that hasn’t managed people in the work force for the last 10 years to spit his drivel at me but I wanted to pick the brain of real managers that dealt with real issues (i.e. PDPs, annual reviews, one-on-ones, etc.) in the modern workplace. Mark and Mike are two long time friends that have experience as managers in the traditional workforce, the military and as consultants. This wide breadth of knowledge means these guys have seen it all! I was hooked on their original set on interviewing and the pitfalls of ‘embellishing’ yourself. The podcast has one major quality that these informational shows have a problem with: they are entertaining. I have heard others say that Mark and Mike have a tendency to get off track but it’s this friendly banter that gives them that ‘real world’ credibility I enjoy. Their constant schilling of their upgraded ‘paid’ product can get annoying but that is more than offset by the information you get.

Podded: An EVE Online Podcast – What began as the most boring podcast ever made one simple movie, adding a co-host with personality, and has become a real joy to listen to since. There have been a number of podcasts I have listened to that I had to just stop… because they were causing me to fall asleep at the wheel. Podded originally started as a spewing of facts regarding the MMO Eve Online hosted by “Dillon Arklight”. All Dillon did was talk about the actual numbers of Eve and the ‘news’ from the PvP areas of the game. The problem was, it was just him talking. After a few episodes Podded disappeared into the podcasting ether. In May 2009, Podded relaunched with Dillon Arklight and his new co-host, War Childe. War Childe added personality and banter to the show. While these guys still talk about the ‘numbers’ and ‘news’ of Eve, they also debate and bounce ideas off each other, making it a much more enjoyable Podcast. Much like “Mike and Mark” and “Sean and Jim” these guys seem to be close friends that really enjoy talking to each other, which bleeds over into their recordings.

Fast Karate for the Gentleman – Lastly is the ‘guerrilla’ podcast operation of Dave and Joel. Whenever someone like Daryl Surat says you need to spend hours editing your podcast, I point to Fast Karate for the Gentleman (FKFTG). I don’t even think Dave and Joel know what ‘editing’ is. Each week (or so) they put out about 30+ minutes of stream-of-consciousness onto the interwebz. Uncouth and raw, these guys hold no punches in this ‘geek’ podcast that could range from anime and video gaming to daily commuting and parking tickets. FKFTG is an acquired taste and their run ‘n gun format may not be your cup of tea, but I really enjoy these guys for what they are… real.